Debts

Sometimes it just takes a while for things to come into focus. Debts is the first collection of songs from Minneapolis’ Sam Cassidy. Written over the last few years, Cassidy draws on the life of ordinary people as well as his own experiences to paint vivid pictures of struggle and joy, hard work and taking it easy, longing and satisfaction.

Debts was tracked in three studios over ten months and culls the talents of eight musicians in two separate backing bands. Cassidy recorded a set of tracks live at the Terrarium, calling on longtime friends the Red Daughters- Tony Beres, Mark Hanson, Aaron “Hix” Lee, Charlie Murlowski, and Ryan Zickermann. More songs were recorded with the All NightCanyons - a group of talented musicians pulled together for these sessions including Jeremy Hanson (Tapes 'n Tapes, Actual Wolf), Rob Skoro (Mason Jennings, Haley Bonar), Steve Bosmans (Charn, John Mark Nelson), and Hix (Red Daughters, Dirt Road Ramblers).

The whole process took nearly two years to complete, with Cassidy operating on a working man’s budget, hitting the studio when time and money allowed. A cabinetmaker by trade, Cassidy’s blue-collar ethic rings throughout the young songwriter’s debut, especially on tracks like “Caffeine” and the lead single “Hard Road.”

“Hallelujah” speaks of an old man with whom a young bar patron has had enough. “Reason to Stay” returns to the same old man and offers his side of the story. The title track tells of someone who gets in over his head and ends up paying his debts the hard way, while “Please Say No” begs an old friend to clean up his act. Cassidy’s ability to write a song from the everyman’s point of view is the thread that strings Debts together. It’s that constant search and struggle that keeps life interesting, to hoping it all works out.